Summary
Donald Trump appointed billionaires and major donors like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), aiming to cut $2 trillion from federal spending and dismantle regulations.
DOGE will operate outside federal oversight, focusing on slashing programs and weakening regulatory agencies, including the IRS and Department of Education.
Critics warn that DOGE and broader deregulatory measures will benefit wealthy corporations, aligning with Trump’s agenda to extend tax cuts for the rich and favor oligarchic interests over public welfare, further cementing U.S. plutocracy.
This is mostly immaterial given the way Trump seems to want to operate this time around. DOGE does not need to exist; Trump will push for whatever Musk and Ramaswamy say.
This is not the time for suggestions of “well, he can’t do this because X, so we don’t need to worry about it.” We absofuckinglutely need to be worrying about all possibilities, even those which may seem impractical given the law.
The only savior would be if the courts were still legitimate… Which means we are screwed.